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2019 California Earthquakes
July - September 2019 California Earthquakes The 2019 California Earthquakes were one of the most catastrophic disasters in American History. The first earthquakes, on the 4th and 5th of July, caused mainly minor damage. The first earthquake, which occurred at approximately 10:30 AM PDT, on the 4th, was a magnitude 6.4, with a epicenter near the small city of Ridgecrest, in Kern County. It was the largest earthquake in the state of California since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Although, in 2010, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Northern Baja California, a state in Mexico, which was felt in some areas of Far-Southern California. The following day, 2 large earthquakes occurred. At 4:08 AM PDT, a 5.4 earthquake struck the same location as the 6.4 earthquake on the 4th, and was felt in many areas. This, as the 6.4 earthquake, caused minimal damage aswell. Multiple smaller 5.0 or less magnitude earthquakes occurred in the area throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon. At 8:19 PM, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred in the same area, and was the largest earthquake since the 1992 Landers Earthquake, which measured a 7.3. This caused moderate to major damage across Searles Valley, and the Ridgecrest area. Was felt by a lot of people, ranging as far south as San Diego to the Central Valley. Las Vegas felt it aswell, as parts of Western Arizona. In the next three minutes, a 4.6 and a 5.0 magnitude earthquake occurred too. Throughout the rest of July, there were some aftershocks ranging from 4.0 to 5.0. By the end of July and early August, almost all aftershocks were magnitude 2.5 or below. The September Earthquake (+ August Foreshocks) By by 10th of August, there were nearly no aftershocks. But, on August 13th, something strange was happening. Around 3 earthquakes ranging from 3.4 to 4.5 occurred in the eastern parts of the city of San Bernardino. These were very unusual, as the two fault lines were the previous earthquakes in early July occurred were 100 miles away. Then, a very unprecedented earthquake occurred on August 16, at 2:27 AM, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake happened. It caused damaged to around 15 houses in Highland and Redlands. Then, upon further investigation, they discovered something horrid. All of these earthquakes happened on the San Andreas Fault. Major precautions were taken incase a larger earthquake happened. They provided over 3,000 shelters from San Luis Obispo to Palm Springs. As the days went on, the earthquakes were increasing in numbers. Around 20 happened between the 20th and 31st of August, ranging from 3.7 to 5.4. Between the 1st of September and the 3rd, and 25 occurred, ranging from 4.3 to 5.7. The day before the earthquake, on the 3rd, just before 7 pm, a 6.3 earthquake happened, mirroring the 6.4 earthquake that happened on July 4th. Moderate to major damage happened in San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Big Bear, Palm Springs, Riverside, and more. Mass evacuations happened, as models predicted it was very unlikely that it was a main shock. From 7 pm on the 3rd to 12 pm on the 4th, a 3.8, 5.1, and 5.7 earthquakes happened. At 1:56 PM, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred. Catastrophic damage occurred throughout all of the Inland Empire, Coachella Valley, and San Bernardino Mountains. A lot of damage also occurred in other areas in the San Andreas Fault, like areas in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles Counties. Major damage was also reported in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Long Beach, and many more. Around 10,000 buildings collapsed, and 25,000 homes were destroyed. This earthquake was also the same magnitude as the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. 33,817 people had died from this earthquake, the largest death toll by an earthquake in the globe since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and even surpassing the 2011 9.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan. The majority of San Bernardino and the surrounding areas had evacuation orders. Aftershocks A total of around 2,000 aftershocks happened, with the largest being 6.5, occurring just 8 minutes after the main shock. There were around 45 5.0+ aftershocks, and 200 4.0+ aftershocks over the span of a month. 933 were over 3.0+, and the rest were less than 3.0. Many families couldn't recover from the incident as many of then were killed by the earthquake. This remains one of the largest of most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history. The earthquake, since it was so major, sent strong shaking as far away as Santa Barbara County, which killed many people too. "Weak" shaking was felt as far away as San Jose, Oakland, South Lake Tahoe, Reno, Phoenix, and outer suburbs of Las Vegas. Aftermath As stated before, many states offered help to the Californian Government for recovery efforts. A large fire occurred in the city of Whittier, destroying around 45% of the city, and caused 1.7 billion dollars of structural damage. By Late-September, recovery efforts had began. It took them approximately 6 months to recover most of the structures, which finished on April 11th, 2020. After this quake, various other companies including the United States Geological Survey were working on better ways to inform the public about incoming earthquakes.Donald Trump visited one street in Central San Bernardino where every building collapsed on the 22nd of September and said, "This event is catastrophic. We shall try to begin recovery as soon as possible. Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles' Mayor, Chuy Garcia, Democratic Illinois Senator, Mike Pence, Vice President, and Gavin Newsom, California Governor, all visited areas affected by the earthquake. Nevada, Washington State, Arizona, Colorado, and Florida offered recovery assistance to California.